127 Insights into Megillas Esther
by Rav Mendel Weinbach, Ohr Somayach Institutions, Dean
excerpts from the book (Targum/Feldheim)
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Contents:
o Overview
o Insight #1
o Insight #127
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Overview
The history of the Jewish people in the close to three millennia since the
destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash is divided into four phases. Thes
are the arba galuyos -- the four exiles -- which, with only a brief respit
in the days of the Chashmonaim, span all these years, to this very day.
In his prophetic dream, Yaakov Avinu saw a ladder with its base on the
ground and its top in Heaven and angels going up and down its rungs. Thes
angels are identified by the Midrash as the sarei ha'umos, the patron
angels of the four kingdoms that would oppress Yaakov's descendants in
their exile. Yaakov saw the sar of Babylon ascend seventy rungs --
representing the number of years that nation held power over Jewry -- and
then descend. Next came the sar of Medea, whose ascent of fifty-two rungs
symbolized the length of the Persian-Medean exile. Then came the sar of
Greece, who got as high as 180 rungs -- the number of years Jews suffered
under the Hellenist yoke until their liberation on Chanukah. It was only
the ever-ascending sar of Edom that led Yaakov to ask Hashem if this meant
that the fourth exile would never end. He was reassured that even if Edom
-- Rome and its heirs -- reached the stars, Hashem would bring it down.
This theme of the four kingdoms and the exiles they were to impose upon
Jewry is not encountered for the first or last time in Yaakov's vision.
There are at least half a dozen other references in Tanach.
Yaakov's dream is unique in pinpointing the length of each exile. But all
the other symbols and visions are alike in offering an opportunity to
analyze the nature of each kingdom. It is these concise yet profound
insights into the personality of each nation that Chazal and Torah
commentators throughout the generations have developed into a fascinating
picture of Jewish history.
The events described in Megillas Esther transpired during the second of
these four exiles, when Jews were ruled by the kingdom of the Persians and
Medes, with a Persian on the throne. We shall therefore repeatedly refer
to Chazal's descriptions of these two nations in order to better understan
their behavior as reflected in the Megillah.
Daniel's nocturnal vision offers us a perspective on the king whose power
is the focal point of our first section. The second animal that arises
from the storm-tossed sea is similar to a bear.
With this background we approach our first section. Analyzing the power o
Achashveirosh, a self-made monarch who succeeded Koresh as the second of
the three Persian rulers of a mighty kingdom, is indispensable to
understanding the Megillah. It was his absolute control over the entire
inhabited world that made the threat of Haman's genocide so menacing.
The magnificent banquet that occupies the first part of the Megillah was
motivated by a combination of factors. From a political point of view it
was an effort to achieve reconciliation with those provinces whose
rebellion had been crushed. The opulence of the affair expresses the grea
wealth of king and empire while the orgiastic indulgence reflects the
appetites of the bear.
But perhaps most important, it represents the second kingdom's hopes of
succeeding where the first one failed. Belshatzar prematurely celebrated
the end of Jewish hopes for redemption and was punished with the premature
end of his Babylonian kingdom. Achashveirosh follows his example at this
banquet, bringing forth the vessels of the Beis Hamikdash to show that
there is no longer any need to fear that the Jews will ever have a second
one. This Persian dream of succeeding where others failed will recur at
the great trial at the end of days, as described by our Sages (Avodah Zara
2b).
In the hereafter all the nations of the world will be summoned before
Hashem, who will point to the sefer Torah in His lap and ask all those who
studied that Torah to come forward and claim their reward. The Romans, as
the mightiest of empires, will be first in line. They will claim to have
established many marketplaces, built many bathhouses, and amassed many
great treasures of gold and silver for the sole purpose of enabling Jews t
study Torah. But this contention will be rejected by the Divine Judge, who
will point out their selfish motivation in all of these achievements.
As the crestfallen Romans depart, their place will be taken by the
Persians, who -- like them -- will enjoy power until the Messianic era.
The Persians will feel confident of succeeding where the Romans failed
because it was one of their kings who granted permission to build the
second Beis Hamikdash, whereas it was a Roman ruler who destroyed it.
Their argument will be that they built many bridges, conquered many cities
and waged many wars only so Jews could study Torah. Once again, Hashem
will shatter this defense by exposing its selfish and vainglorious nature.
It is difficult to imagine how nations standing before the omniscient
Creator in the final hour of truth will dare to present such transparent
claims of being motivated in all their worldly achievements only by the
desire to promote Torah study among Jews!
The Brisker Rav, Rav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, z"l, offers an explanation
based on Rambam's famous mashal in his introduction to his Mishnaic
commentary. Why should a fool enjoy great wealth and order his servants t
build him a luxurious palace and plant a lush vineyard nearby? Because on
day a righteous man dying of hunger and exhaustion will find comfort in th
shade of the palace walls and sustenance in the fruits of the vineyard.
Although the owner of the palace and vineyard had no intention of rescuing
any righteous traveler, it is this salvation that justified all of his
wealth and efforts.
Similarly, there is no doubt that Jews have been able to study Torah with
greater ease because of the commerce, transportation, and other advances o
civilization wrought by Romans, Persians, and all the other nations of the
world. But this is merely the way the Creator arranged His world to ensur
that those who study and live by the Torah will have their needs provided
for by others. Credit and guilt, however, depend on one's intention. Eac
nation is therefore discredited in that ultimate trial for having other
reasons in mind.
In a broader sense this idea can be applied to all of Jewish history. The
Romans provided us not only with marketplaces and money but with the soul-
searing lesson of destruction and exile. Persia provided not only bridges
and conquests but the catalyst of teshuvah, in the form of Haman's plot.
Each nation that has plagued Israel has served as the rod of Divine anger,
so mercifully applied to awaken us before we destroy ourselves with our
sins. But Rome and Persia, like Babylon and Greece before them, will be
punished for their intention to harm a people they hated without
justification.
This is the true perspective of the Purim story. The royal ring
transferred from the hand of Achashveirosh was a blessing in disguise for
Jewish nation in need of a shock. But it was also the instrument of a
monstrous plan for a "final solution," which inevitably resulted in the
downfall of the planner and the triumph of his intended victims.
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Insight #1: Days of Anguish
"And it happened in the days of Achashveirosh..." (Verse 1:1).
"`And it happened in the days (vayehi b'may)'
is always an expression of anguish" (Gemara 10b).
* * * * * * *
The power of Achashveirosh was a source of anguish for his Jewish subjects
"And it happened in the days of Achashveirosh" suggests the he, rather tha
the general situation, was the catalyst for the painful events of his
epoch.
This same expression is found in Tanach regarding four earlier periods.
"It happened in the days of Amrafel" (Bereishis 14:1) introduces the
anguish of history's first war. Its catalyst was the wicked Nimrod, who
gained the name Amrafel because he said (amar) to cast (fol) Avraham into
the fiery furnace for refusing to worship his idols. This Amrafel, who
leads three other kings into battle against five kingdoms and then against
Avraham, also represents the Babylonian empire, which ruled in the first
exile. His three allies symbolize the three kingdoms that followed,
Kedarlaomer signifying the Persian-Medean empire.
"It happened in the days of the judging of the judges" (Ruth 1:1)
introduces the anguish of a famine in Eretz Yisrael, which was Heavenly
retribution for the corruption of the judges who had grown vulnerable to
the judgment of those whom they themselves were to judge.
"It happened in the days of Achaz" (Yeshayahu 7:1) introduces the anguish
of an invasion of Yehudah by the armies of Aram and Yisrael, suggesting
that the peace of the Jews in their Holy Land was endangered by the
idolatrous ways of faithless kings. The climax of this anguish -- churban
Beis Hamikdash and galus -- is signaled by "It happened in the days of
Yehoyakim" (Yirmiyahu 1:3).
All the anguish of these earlier eras seems to be relived in the days of
Achashveirosh. The word vayehi, which introduces all of them with a
combination of two classic expressions of woe, vay and hi, was exceedingly
appropriate to a period that was a composite of all its predecessors. The
outcry of vay following invasion and churban in the days of Achaz and
Yehoyakim is echoed in the vay the Jews cried when Achashveirosh halted th
construction of the second Beis Hamikdash begun by Zerubavel under license
from King Koresh. The vay of famine is heard once again in the three-day
fast initiated by Esther, and the vay of war in the battle of the Jews
against the enemies bent on their destruction.
Vay is an expression of pain but it is also a form of prayer. It is this
prayer that ultimately puts an end to the anguish caused by the power of
Achashveirosh.
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Insight #127: Blessed by Mordechai the Jew
"For Mordechai the Jew...[was] accepted by most of his brethren [as] a
seeker of good for his people and a spokesman of peace for all his
posterity" (Verse 10:3).
"By `most of his brethren' but not `by all' -- this teaches that some
members of the Sanhedrin distanced themselves from him" (Gemara 16a).
* * * * * * *
With all its opportunities for saving Jewish lives, Mordechai's rise to
power was not without its drawbacks. His preoccupation with communal
matters forced him to spend less time learning Torah. As a result, some o
his colleagues in the Sanhedrin withdrew from him.
This would seem to indicate that these sages considered Torah study more
important than saving lives. Indeed, in Sefer Ezra (2:2) Mordechai is
mentioned after four other names while in Sefer Nechemiah, concerning
events that took place twenty-four years later, his name appears after fiv
others. This demotion is interpreted as Heavenly support for the sages'
decision to abandon Mordechai after he neglected Torah for lifesaving
communal work.
Yet the poskim (Turei Zahav, Yoreh Deah 251:4) state that one is obligated
to put aside learning Torah in order to save lives. The same halachic
principle obliges a community to take funds collected for the support of
Torah study and utilize them for taxes if evasion could endanger Jewish
lives. Mordechai therefore had no alternative but to assume the
responsibility thrust upon him.
Nonetheless, if one Jew must sacrifice his learning in order to save lives
while another can continue his learning undisturbed, the latter is greater
This idea, interjected into the last words of the Megillah and in the mids
of such elaborate praise for Mordechai, is the Megillah's way of
reinforcing its readers' Torah perspective. Of course every Jew, like
Mordechai, must be prepared to put aside every personal consideration --
even the greatness he can achieve through learning Torah -- if Heaven has
put him in a position where he alone can save Jewish lives. But what is
even greater than such heroism, and is the only guarantee that dangers suc
as Hamanic decrees will not threaten the Jewish people? The learning of
Torah.
Those members of the Sanhedrin who distanced themselves from Mordechai
after he took on his new responsibilities were demonstrating for their
generation and all future generations that Jewish survival is guaranteed
not by Jews like Mordechai in high places in the government, but by Jews
who are deeply committed to uninterrupted Torah study. Mordechai, who
unshirkingly accepted the lifesaving responsibility for which Heaven had
singled him out, was certainly the first to appreciate the significance of
their gesture. Nevertheless, he was capable of proudly continuing as "a
seeker of good for his people and a spokesman of peace for all his
posterity."
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You can find the other 125 other Insights in Rav Weinbach's book "127
Insights into Megillas Esther." Rav Weinbach is also the author of
"Turnabout," which is the Purim Megillah written in novel format. Both
books are published by Targum/Feldheim.
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